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No pun intended in the title, of course. I don't have time to blog much and for that I apologize, but I thought maybe I could instead tease you with a share of the observations I have been making to myself these past few weeks (or days, I lost track).

Did you notice how subdued (drugged?) Walid Jumblatt looks these days? Apparently, I am not the only one who thinks that. Mind you, as the saying goes, do not judge a man by his looks, especially if he happens to be Walid Jumblatt.

Western media as usual does a cosmetic surgery of the ugly reality of the Israeli opposition to Olmert and Peretz; here's a typical headline: "Israelis protest over Lebanon war" (BBC). Of course, the opposition to Olmert and Peretz is not because they went to war instead of choosing the diplomatic track, nor because they killed too many civilians, but solely because they failed to achieve victory. Had victory been achievable, and achieved, would anyone have cared about the price in civilian lives that the "enemy" had to pay, or for that matter, expressed anti-war sentiment (not that they do now)?

The Israeli left, or what was left of the Israeli left, i.e, the right of the Israeli left, i.e. the center, which is the left of the Israeli right, which is the same as the Israeli right since the left is always at a loss for directions and somehow always tends to move in the opposite direction, has at last shed its imageof "leftism", and officially joined the ranks of the right.

Chavez is on a rampage (what's new).

People are still arguing about whether Lebanon won or lost the July war...

I rarely check out, let alone participate in, the "have your say" section of the BBC website; a few days ago, I saw something on the Winograd commission, and decided to write up and send a reply. They still haven't published my reply. I think my name (Anarchist) turned them off. I wrote about the Winograd Commission, and I said that its purpose was twofold: first, doing cosmetic surgery on Israel's image by emphasizing Israeli "values" of accountability, etc. (but not for war crimes and mass murder) ; second, reassuring its patron (do I have to mention who that would be?) that the mistakes of the July war will not be repeated, and that Israel will be a good partner in the "war against terror" from now on. I did not take into consideration the public opinion factor, and still don't. I do not like public opinion much, especially when theorizing about correlation and causality; it is too tricky and slippery, it is not exactly quantifiable except in rare cases where referendum data is available. I do not think Winograd Commission is specifically for a domestic audience, though it certainly may take on that role, too.

On July 20, 2006 Gideon Levy accused Israel of launching "Operation Peace for IDF", in an article of the same title. I love the title (which in case you did not get it, is a play on "Operation Peace for Galilee"), though I do not approve of some of what came in the article.

Aoun suggested a one-time break from sectarianism (at face value), by having people vote directly for the president. Only a one-time thing, then we can go back to our neat boxes and profess allegiance to this za'im or that, "a strong Christian figure", "a Sunni za'im", "a heroic Sayyed", "a drugged chieftain", etc.

If as many people gathered in Lebanon as there were in the anti-Olmert rally in Tel Aviv, people would have been talking about 1.5 million protesters taking to the streets. Not only that, but people would have immediately monopolized that date, and started arguing about "which date" fielded how many supporters. The Lebanese like playing the numbers game, I guess; except when it comes to the debt, and the number of people butchered by Israel (that's when they start arguing about how Israel "won" the war).

The Lebanese talk about how Israel really won the war by pointing to the accountability process there; these same Lebanese, when faced with any talk whatsoever about their zu'ama being held accountable, turn into blood-sucking wild-eyed "patriots" and accuse you of wanting to weaken Lebanon and serve -- of course -- Syrian interests.

Israel still does not have a constitution nor defined borders. Remind them to get one, or if they have a phobia of specifying their borders, tell them not to claim to be a state. The latter is better.

Can someone please give me one good argument in favor of absentee (expatriate) voting? Or for that matter, voting in and of itself?

At the current (oil) Reserve/Production ratio, the U.S can produce oil for another 12 years only, KSA for another 65 years, Iran for another 93 years, Iraq and Kuwait, for more than 100 years. Here, I bolded the important parts for you, draw your own conclusions. And do share your thoughts.

The Israeli government and defense forces should wage a war against car drivers. Traffic accidents claim the lives of dozens every week in Israel. But that doesn't violate the sovereignty of Israel. Sorry, my bad.

Apparently, HezbAllah won the propaganda war "by its strict and undemocratic control of the media". Israel, however, is as usual very democratic. Will Harvard remove its logo from this publication?

I had to chuckle at "May Day" demonstrations; communist parties in every country holding national flags.

The Azmi Bishara plot thickens... I have come to increasingly view the whole affair as one that is not unrelated to the Winograd commission and attempts to quell domestic dissatisfaction by busying the public with a case of treason, against an Arab citizen to make things marketable of course. This enables the authorities to play on the feelings of the Jewish citizens especially that the July war brought to the forefront fresh divides between the Arab and Jewish communities, along with accusations of mass-treason against Arab citizens, leveled by their Jewish counterparts. Azmi Bishara seems to be the scapegoat, and his framing not only serves a public opinion purpose, but also could be related to new policies to be adopted vis-a-vis the Arab community in light of the increasing strain it places on the authorities in the domain of demographic challenge (or perceptions thereof).

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